A listing of all my many adventures and misadventures in this passion that has overtaken me since I was 25 years old... knitting.

Sunday, November 30, 2003

Ripping Back

For those of you who take joy in the mistakes of an experienced knitter, I offer you today's blog entry.

Ronas HillFor some reason, I don't seem to be able to make it past armhole shaping on Fair Isles without a mistake.

I was knitting along happily on Ronas Hill and was all ready to report another completed pattern repeat. Then I realized I had to rip out about 10 rows and reknit them correctly.

Damn it! I should have known better. Now that I'm shaping for the armholes, the pattern starts at a different place after the first armhole steek. On one of the rows, I figured out where I should start in the pattern, and after knitting the first two repeats, I was curious as to why one of the stitches seemed off by one and then corrected two stitches later.

Stupidly, I just figured I had made a minor mistake, but the remainder of the row was like that.

Then a few rows later, I got even more suspicious when I realized that the end of each round was finishing before the middle of the pattern repeat instead of towards the end. Now I realized I had made a mistake, but I thought I might be able to continue without it being noticeable.

What was I thinking?!?!

Ripping out Fair Isle sucks.

Suffice it to say, I'm back to where I was and I have, in fact, finished another pattern repeat.

Now I'm being much more cognizant of little clues that show me my mistakes instead of going into denial.

Flea Market FindsThe last couple of weekends have been good for flea market finds for both me and Thaddeus.

I found these two books, both of which I like very much:

The one on the left is all about making one piece knitted projects. I like the concept and I'm glad to have a simple, basic design book. The patterns are hideous (from the 70's), but the basic design ideas I can get a lot of use out of.

The one on the right is a crochet book from the 40's. It shows some really bad and some really good ideas. I'll include a few pictures from both books over the course of the next few weeks.

Thaddeus has also been able to supplement his mushroom collection.

These two big ceramic mushrooms we both liked a lot.

He's also found some additional little ones to add to the collection.

Readers Comments/QuestionsI knew I was preaching to the choir with my rant on gay marriages, but it's nice to confirm the kind of support I have from my readers on this issue.

Charlotte mentions that straight singles that don't marry have many of the same issues.

That is an excellent point for all unmarried folks (whether by choice or by law). Make sure you have as many of the legal protections as you can get for things like wills, powers of attorney, living wills, etc.

Alice asks if Thaddeus and I have some of those legal documents, and we do.

Homosexuals don't pay additional taxes just because they are homosexual. It's the inability to marry that makes inheritance taxes much higher. If Meg's husband were to die, she'd get everything in "their" estate without having to pay taxes on it, because they are jointly owned. Since Thaddeus and I can't marry legally, the inheritance on all things passed from one of us to the other is completely taxable.

Friday, November 28, 2003

Queer Issue Alert

I digress a little in today's rant on political happenings and the reaction to them. There's also some knitting in here.

Gay MarriageFirst of all, most folks that aren't at least somewhat sypathetic to the lesbi-gay cause probably wouldn't be reading a blog called QueerJoe. So I acknowledge up front that I'm preaching to the choir.

With the recent decision by the Supreme Court in Massachusetts to allow gay marriages, there has been a huge backlash from the right wing folks and even the centerist folks on this issue.

I have always felt that the laws in this country are highly discriminatory towards the GLBT community. A couple of examples are:

1. If I were married and died tomorrow, my wife would be the beneficiary of my pension benefit. In reality, if I die tomorrow, my pension is forfeited and Thaddeus wouldn't see a penny of it.

2. If I were married and died tomorrow, my wife would own our house and joint assets without any tax. In reality, if I die tomorrow, the a portion of the value of the house that Thaddeus and I own together would be considered taxable inheritance to him.

I won't even get into the policies such as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" because the discrimination factor is relatively obvious (I think).

Now the right wing is scrambling to do anything possible to keep discrimination in place.

In truth, even if a constitutional amendment is put in place to declare marriage as a strictly hetero activity, my life won't be horribly affected. Yes, I will get less money and benefits from the government...yes, I'll have to pay more taxes than straight people, but none of the consequences are earth-shattering.

The fact of the matter is, the rules currently in place, are just plain wrong, and should be changed. I know the knee-jerk reaction makes gay marriage sound like a horrible corruption to a sacred event to some people. But for anyone who truly understands how gays and lesbians are treated in the law, they clearly recognized how much discrimination is present.

Back to KnittingI've completed another pattern repeat on Ronas Hill and I've started the sleeve steeks and shaping. From here, it should move a little more quickly. I am very excited about wearing this sweater.

This is also the part where I have to modify the pattern, so it will require some thought as I shape the armholes. Unfortunately, the stitch counts in the written pattern will not match for the remainder of the sweater.

Readers Comments/QuestionsCatherine in Melbourne sent me the following cyber quiz that she (and I) thought was very appropriate for me.

Tuesday, November 25, 2003

Back in the Ronas Hill Swing

As promised, after finishing up another scarf over the weekend (and starting another), I'm back doing Fair Isle and a little sock knitting.

One and a Quarter More ScarvesI didn't take a picture, but I finished the last Dune scarf and I started a new one in a Lana Grossa yarn that I don't remember the name of, and I've never worked with it before. It's a furry yarn in this strange and lovely brushed copper color.

It won't be a huge hit at the craft fair, but it's one of the more interesting yarns from my perspective.

Fair Isle KnittingRonas Hill is back on the needles. I was able to finish another pattern repeat for a total of 4 now (you can track my progress by counting the rows with a red line of color in them That red yarn row is the top line of the pattern repeat.

This four day weekend, I anticipate hitting the armhole shaping and making some headway on finishing the body.

It's starting to get cold and snowy in the Albany area, and my office space is either a blast furnace, or as cold as outside. A nice warm vest will be perfect for office-wear.

Sock KnittingI've also made a little progress on the Regia Stretch sock that I work on concurrently with the Ronas Hill vest. I've got a little bit more to do on this sock.

For the first sock, I didn't use up the entire first ball of Regia, so I'm thinking I may undo the finishing edge on the first sock and use up the leftover yarn, and use up all of the yarn on the current sock as well. We'll see how inspired I feel as I continue to make progress.

Strange and Interesting Web SiteI wandered onto this site and thought others might find it as interesting as I did. Here's one of the pictures from the site, but there's a whole page of pictures like this.

Readers Comments/QuestionsJust as an overall reply to the "now-too-late" requests for pictures of the hunk-o'-man, Thaddeus, my comments about that were really just a tease anyway.

He doesn't like pictures of himself very much, and he looks much better in person. Pictures of him on this site will be pretty rare, and pictures of Gage will be somewhat infrequent.

Jojo asks what size needle and how much Dune is required for a scarf.

I use US13 needle and 13 stitches for the Dune scarf. I used the free scarf pattern that I posted last week for the Dune scarf and with the added fringe, it comes out a perfect length with only one ball.

Marie asks how much I'll charge for my scarves at the craft sale.

The last sale, I sold the scarves for $28, of which $7 of each scarf went to the organizer of the craft sale. I'm considering upping the price to $32 ($8 per hat will go to the organizer), but I'm not sure yet. I'm thinking that the Dune and Fee scarfs I might sell for $32, and the Pep scarves for $28.

For the most part, I do this craft show for my enjoyment and being around my friend who organizes it. It's definitely not for the money. Even if I sell all the scarves and hats that I make, my overall hourly rate will be around minimum wage if I take into consideration the knitting time and the craft sale time.

Saturday, November 22, 2003

Sick of Scarves

I'm sure you're just as sick of me writing about more scarves, so this is the last weekend I'll be working on craft show items for little bit.

Three More ScarvesThe red scarf in GGH Gala is finished, plus I finished one of the most popular scarves from the last craft show. It's a black scarf with glittery gold sections done in Fee yarn. I also finished another scarf in the Lana Grossa fur yarn called Pep.

The Lana Grossa scarf I made much thinner and longer than most of the other scarves as an experiment. I wonder if folks will like that one as well or better than the others. It seemed to take a lot longer to knit even though I used the entire ball of yarn, just like all of the other scarves.

I also started another scarf in a different colorway of Trendsetter Dune. Thaddeus likes this one the best so far.

My theory on this craft show is that even if I don't sell any of the scarves, I can always leave them at the yarn store as store models and if non-knitters come in wanting to buy them (which they often do), I'll tell them it's okay to sell them.

Back to Real KnittingThis week, I plan on going back to the Ronas Hill vest and continue on that over the Thanksgiving weekend.

I will be in Albany from Monday through Wednesday, with limited time to knit on Monday and Tuesday night. But at least I'll be working on knitting I enjoy a lot more than the never-ending scarves.

Readers Comments/QuestionsAlison asks where Gage has been lately.

Mostly, I don't care to make this a Cat Blog, so I won't be having daily or weekly pictures of my cat. If you think about it, I bet there are more pictures of Gage on my blog archives than there are of Thaddeus. Nobody ever asks, "more pictures of that handsome man of yours please?".

Anyway, here's one for you.

This one shows Gage in Thaddeus' lap trying on the newest Pep scarf. I think the color brings out his eyes.

Jo asks what's this LLH brand yarn I mentioned.

Gwen gladly corrected my misreading of the GGH label. The G's on their label look very much like L's to me (as odd as that sounds). Thanks Gwen.

Thursday, November 20, 2003

Scarfing

The endless knitting of scarfs continues.

Same Scarf, Different YarnI finished the Trendsetter Dune scarf, using the "free scarf pattern" posted in my last entry. It's a great color combination in sparkly jewel tones. I only need to add the fringe to complete the scarf, and I didn't have scissors or a crochet hook with me, so I started my next scarf.

The new scarf is done in Gala by LLH (I think). It's a furry yarn, very similar to Fee and Pep, except this yarn has clear, sparkly hairs mixed in all over the place. Unfortunately, you can't see the sparkles in the picture, but with the deep red color, and the dew-covered look from the sparkles, this yarn knits up pretty cool for acrylic.

I have to admit that I should probably have come up with a different pattern design for this yarn. The resulting scarf looks kind of like those cheesey faux-fur collars. But fortunately, I think the color makes up for the lack of imagination in pattern stitches.

Non-Curling Stockinette StitchThuy tried the tubular cast-on technique, and reported back that it didn't prevent the curling at all (well, maybe a little).

So the non-curling stockinette stitch is still attributable to Satan (no, not satin...this one concept isn't fiber-related), for lack of a more likely way to make this happen.

Readers Comments/QuestionsFirst of, just an overall comment about your comments.

I read the comments to my blog a few times throughout the day (during work), and I can't tell you how many times I have a little burst of laughing when I read them. You folks are quite entertaining...thank you.

Anyway, Kitty reminds me to kindly quit splitting my infinitives.

I figure if it's good enough for Captains Kirk and Picard, I am also able to assuredly continue doing it too.

Sean, honey...bulky yarn, US13's and 16 stitches is the secret. How much time could it take to knit a row of 16 stitches? Also, I'll try to get a close up of some of the London Beanie's in Kureyon for you. I don't have them with me in Albany, but I'll be home tonight.

Clark ponders what next project to consider, and wonders if socks are too ambitious.

With the stick-to-itiveness that boat-building must require, I don't think sock knitting is at all too ambitious. There are tons of free recipes on the web for making socks, and experimenting with double points was very exciting for me as a new knitter. I don't know that I'd recommend doing such a fine gauge sock as the vacation sock. If you want something quick, you could do a nice hiking sock in a DK or worsted weight yarn.

I even have a software called Sock Wizard where I could design you a pattern if you could tell me what gauge you were getting with a particular yarn.

Tuesday, November 18, 2003

Knitting SatisfactionOne of the most satisfying components to my knitting, is having the knowledge to know what kind stitch is best suited to a specific yarn.

I've learned how to best use alpaca, and cotton and silk and different types of wool, and even blends. Now I'm learning how to best use these crazy novelty yarns, and I must admit, figuring it out and making it work has been just as satisfying as working with the natural fibers.

My current scarf is being done in Dune, by Trendsetter.

With all of my novelty scarves, the mission is to create an acceptably long scarf, that looks good, and doesn't use more than $13 worth of yarn, and doesn't take longer than 3 hours to make. With the Dune, it requires that I use a very open, lacey stitch to meet all of the criteria, and I can make one in about an hour and a half.

The "free scarf pattern" (used to get more hits on my site), for this scarf is as follows:

Cast on 13 stitches on a US13 needle.
Knit four rows.
Next row: K1, Yarn Over to last stitch, K1
Next row: K1, slip yarn over off the needle, to last stitch, K1
Next row: Knit
Next row: Knit

Repeat the last four rows till the yarn is almost gone. Knit four rows and use the remaining yarn for fringe.

For the Lana Grossa Pep and the Fee yarns, I just cast on around 18-22 stitches, and Knit two rows and Purl two rows. It makes the scarf longer than plain garter stitch.

Here's my remaining stash of about a dozen balls of novelty yarns, which include Fee, Pep and Dune.

Non Curliing Stockinette StitchThuy asks me if there is a way to cast on (or off) so that stockinette stitch won't roll.

My favorite answer to this enigma was from Dani who clearly understands that the knitting is created only by selling your soul to Satan. That would explain how well J. Crew does as well.

But other than loose cast-on/cast-off, using loosely spun yarn, and blocking a lot, the tubular cast-on is the only solution that seems to have some general agreement.

Thanks everyone for your advice and tips. The experience of the folks who read this blog are amazing.

Readers Comments/QuestionsClark is my newest favorite knitter. In a week, he got someone to teach him to knit, made a large swatch of knitting and purling, found my favorite local yarn store and bought a pattern and yarn for a hat which he's already finished.

And he found my site.

It doesn't hurt that he's one of the most attractive men I've ever seen in a yarn store either (sorry girls and boys, he's married).

Welcome to a new and fearless knitter. He also builds boats and teaches at one of the best prep schools in the country. Quite a Renaissance man.

Sunday, November 16, 2003

A blog reader asked an intriguing knitting question. Since I don't know the answer, and I'd like to, I'm going to ask the folks who read this blog if they might know.

Non Rolling StockinetteThuy asks me if there is a way to cast on (or off) so that stockinette stitch won't roll.

She has a scarf and a sweater from J. Crew with no hem, done in plain stockinette stitch that doesn't roll.

Here's the proof.

Does anyone have any ideas on how one might accomplish this? The sweater is 100% wool in case that affects your answer.

Craft Sale Manic KnittingThis weekend has been non-stop knitting. Mostly for the upcoming craft sale on the 20th of December.

So far this weekend, I've completed four scarves and two London Beanies, and I'm well on my way to finishing a fifth scarf. I'm using Pep, Fee and Dune for the scarves, and Kureyon for the London Beanies. I also have two Pep scarves and two Koigu scarves at the local yarn store and four Headhugger Hats left over from the previous craft show. I'm hopeful to have about three dozen items that I can sell at the show...if not more.

I get to see my friend who's hosting the craft sale this evening for movie and a dinner, and I wanted to show her my extensive progress.

Other Knitting ProgressI did do a little work on the Ronas Hill vest.

Not really enough to merit an updated picture. I also brought Ronas Hill into my localy yarn store when I went in to buy more novelty yarn, and everyone fawned over it.

There was a newly obsessed male knitter in the store when I went in. When he saw me, he said he had been to my web site...and he's only been knitting a week. Hi Clark if you get to read this. Hope your hat is coming out well.

Readers Comments/QuestionsJojo asks who puts out the Pep yarn (she likes the colors).

The Pep yarn is a Lana Grossa yarn. It' similar to Fee and some of the other "hairy" yarns. The reason I buy Pep is that is has about 20 more yards, and cost about $2 less per ball than most of the other hairy scarf yarns.

Pubah asks if I've ever seen anyone wearing these scarves?

I actually have seem some folks wearing them, and like funky clothes, some folks can get away with it, and some can't. And as Kathy mentions, it's the folks that go way overboard with this stuff by wearing it all at once that makes these scarves look way more stupid than they might otherwise.

The best comment I've seen so far from my readers is actually on Wendy's blog. It's the total amount she and Theresa have collected for Heifer International (it was almost $2,500 last I looked).

For any of you who have made contributions, you are amazing...thank you. For those of you who haven't, please consider doing so if you can. Click here to contribute.

Wednesday, November 12, 2003

Holiday Knitting Charity

Interested in charity? Want to find a way to make yours knitting related? Read on.

Knitbloggers Knitting Basket ProjectTheresa and Wendy have organized another amazingly kind thing. By leveraging all of the folks that read their blogs, they are looking to make a charitable donation to Heifer International that helps the needy and is knitting related.

I won't go into detail here, since Wendy and Theresa have described it very well, but if you don't regularly ready either of their blogs, and don't already know about this kind thing they're doing, please stop by their sites and contribute whatever you can.

I wholeheartedly support their efforts and hope you will too.

Knitting EventWhen Marilyn and I get together, we both agree that the best part of this blogging thing are some of the people we've met during the process. Blogging takes quite a bit of time and effort, and knit-blogging requires the additional effort of producing knitted products to display on the blog.

The payback for me has been that my blog has introduced me to a number of folks who are incredible

people, as well as interesting and/or talented fiber artists. This past Sunday, I got to meet up with three of them.

Marilyn hosted a Knit Luncheon at her new house (ritzy gated community home) for me, Lisa and Kathy.

It's always energizing to be around such interesting and creative folks. What made this day even more amazing was that Kathy decided it was time to do a major de-stashing of the yarn that she would never get to in three lifetimes.

Now, don't be jealous, but she brought five Hefty bags full of yarn for us to pick from it anything we wanted. To make this story even more amazing, her yarn was amazing stuff. She had full sweaters worth of yarn in beautiful merinos, soft and luxurious silk/wool combinations, and colors that were incredible.

I walked out on Sunday with two full sweaters worth of amazing yarn. I honestly wanted to take all of it, but truth be told, I already have more than I could ever knit with in a lifetime, and I decided I would only take yarn that I would definitely use, and let Lisa and Marilyn enjoy the rest.

It was an awesome time in a yarn orgy, eating, laughing kind of way.

Knitting ProgressWork has been keeping me very busy, and I've done a little bit of work on the Regia sock, and a little bit of work on the Ronas Hill vest. Neither of them have I made enough progress to merit a picture.

I did, however, also finish the Pep scarf (the first of many) for the December craft show/sale that I agreed to participate in.

I'm very happy with how it came out. The length is perfect and it's soft and beautifully colored. I know these scarves will be sold very quickly.

Hopefully, I'll have more to report on the other projects over the next few days.

Sunday, November 09, 2003

KnittingKnitting for me has always been an easy, fun-to-learn hobby/obsession.

It always cracks me up when someone gets so wrapped up in a comment I make on my blog, or a comment someone leaves in the Comments forum, that they get infuriated enough to write angry comments.

Even funnier, is when it starts a major, nasty flame war.

It must be the time of year, because both Marilyn and I got some interesting comments. Marilyn even had to ban someone on comments.

Back to KnittingRonas Hill is moving along swimmingly.

I've gotten about 10 inches done on the body of the vest, which means I've only got 5 more inches before I start the arm hole shaping.

Since I plan on making the shoulders more narrow than called for in the pattern, the arm hole shaping will take a little upfront calculations and changes to the pattern.

Other ProjectsI also got a little more done on the Regia sock (the second of the pair). When I work on this damn sock, I seem to knit and knit and knit, and after it's all said and done, I've got an inch done.

I've also agreed to show some of my stuff in a craft show/sale toward the end of December, so I've started to supplement my novelty yarn scarf supply in anticipation.

I'd like to have at least a dozen of these scarves to sell by then, but we'll see how bored I get with doing them.

I love the Pep yarn, it's soft and makes a great fabric. While I wouldn't personally wear anything made from it, a lot of folks love the resulting scarves.

Friday, November 07, 2003

Green River KillerThis guy has confessed to killing around 50 woman, and I don't even think I'd look twice if I saw him in a g-string in my local gay bar.

So there's hope for me yet that I'll recover from this obsession with hot looking mass murderers.

Interesting CommentsI have to say, the comments from both the regular readers and the new readers have been very interesting lately. They have kept me highly entertained throughout my work day. Thanks to Lisa, I have been fortunate enough to actually see the infamous "Butt Bra"

Knitting ProgressI kept meaning to take a picture, and I never got around to it. But I've finished a third repeat of the 18 row pattern on Ronas Hill. I'll have an updated picture in the next blog entry.

I didn't do any work on the Regia sock.

I didn't do any work on the Janis project.

I completed the other secret project. This project is a possible business venture. A friend asked if I would knit a prototype product that he'd like to have commercially made and sold.

I think the idea is excellent, so hopefully he'll like the prototype. I finished knitting it, but I have a little finishing to do on it.

Readers Comments/QuestionsMarilyn mentioned: "Although I do recall Joe's problem with a certain Fair Isle and screwing up the armhole steek placement...."

Thank you Marilyn for you timely reminder. That was a tragedy, and I still have the four inches of knitted, Fair Isle fabric tube to torture myself when I get cocky with my knitting.

The good end to that story is that I did finish that Fair Isle, it came out great, and it didn't stop me for starting a new one. Yes, I do make mistakes, and some monumental ones. I just don't let it hinder my growth in the avocation of knitting.

Tuesday, November 04, 2003

Knitting Excitement

I know when I sit at work dreaming about working on my current projects, my excitement level for knitting is high.

Knitting ProjectsI am truly enjoying how Ronas Hill is progressing. In addition, I like the work I'm doing on the Regia sock as well. But if that weren't enough, I'm working on two projects that I can't discuss or show pictures of in the blog, and both of them are keeping my interest as well.

I truly do sit at work a lot thinking about working on one or more of my current projects.

Knitting ProgressAs mentioned, I'm continuing progress on Ronas Hill. The pattern repeats are only 18 stitches wide, so I memorize them after the first or second repeat. Not having to refer back to the graphic in the pattern makes it much easier and quicker to complete a rown. It also increases my eagerness to continue onto the next row.

You'll see in the picture for today that I've finished another half a pattern repeat which is extremely good progress for a "school night".

All this success on a Fair Isle progress is giving me hope that I will design a Fair Isle of my own as one of my next design projects.

I'm confident that I could come up with an interesting colorway for the design, but it will be a challenge for me to come up with a pattern repeat that I can fit into a standard pullover or cardigan pattern.

I'll also take a lot of care in how I frame the design with ribbing, collar and/or button band. The success of many of Ron Schweitzer's designs are in how he frames them, so I've realized how important that is.

Sock KnittingSince I haven't needed the distraction of mindless knitting in the last couple of days, I haven't done any additional knitting on the Regia sock.

I have always had great legs, and they look amazing in fishnets. I've always thought it would be fun to knit a pair, but I honestly don't think I'd put so much work into something so impractical.

Jojo mentions that she's waiting for the Simply Knit 2 book from ThreadBear and hoping there are interesting, easily knit items in it.

The good news is that Simply Knit (the store) just got their copies, so Matt/Rob's should be there by now or if not very soon. The original Simply Knit 2 books that were sold at Stitches were ordered via FedEx airmail at an outrageous cost so they could have the patterns to go with the kits. Anyone that bought them there paid cost for their books, I think.

The bad news is that the two most simply patterns in the book aren't designed by the ladies at Simply Knit. But I'm sure you'll find a lot of patterns that you'll want to knit anyway. The book is as good as the first one.

Deb ask how the thumb is (out of hand therapist concern).

As Kathy quite correctly surmised, even a "sports" injury doesn't stop me from knitting. The swelling went down in two days, and the pain was gone the day after that. Nothing traumatic or causing anything chronic. Thanks for asking.

Linda mentioned the Sandness sweater by Ron Schweitzer in the Jamieson 2 book.

I can't see the pattern very well in the one web pic I can find of this sweater, but the colors are stunning. I'll have to take a closer look at both the pattern and the yarn when I get home. Plus the Jamieson Spindrift is a helluva lot cheaper than the Shetland 2000. My vest kit cost US$50 more than the same size pullover kit for Sandness.